A Mother's Secret Revealed
by Akito Sohma 101
Summary: Akito sees her childhood memories in the form of dreams and reunites with Ren.


6

**A Mother's Secret Revealed**

This is a fanfic based on the manga, so Akito is female. This takes place after the curse has lifted.

I don't own Fruits Basket but I read it on every day. Enjoy!

Akito (reading the title): Mother's secret?

Me: Yeah, I think your mom is hiding something.

Akito: You're up to no good, I know it!

Me: Do tell.

Akito: I think you're trying to get me to bond with my mom.

Me: You got it sister.

Akito: Grrr. _

Akito lay in bed shortly after waking up from a dream; she had tears in her eyes, so it must've been a sad dream. She looked to her left and noticed Shigure her fiancé was still sleeping and didn't even hear her slight sobs. Akito got up out of bed and walked over to the window; she grabbed a couple tissues from on top of the dresser and wiped her eyes. She blew her nose quietly since she didn't want to wake Shigure up. She quietly opened the window, and in flew a small white parakeet which landed on her finger.

Shigure woke up to the sound of Akito blowing her nose a little louder; he knew something was up with her, it's been going on for the past two days in a row. He had never seen his fiancée so upset like this before. She was usually able to control her emotions over some disappointing things, but this – not with whatever she's going through. Shigure got out of bed and walked over to Akito. She was crying harder, he just had to comfort her.

"Another dream?" he asked hugging his fiancée from behind.

"Mm," Akito sniffed as she turned around to hug Shigure, "worse than the night before."

"Tell me about it," said Shigure running his fingers through Akito's black, shoulder length hair.

"Well, she began, "it was about the day I took my first steps; I actually walked towards my mom, but she ran away. I tried calling to her, but she didn't come."

Shigure was shocked that Akito could even remember that day; he even remembered it. "You tried to bond with her that day, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yeah," Akito answered, "but it was after that day that I really started to hate her, and I starting hating her a lot more after my dad died. She was supposed to love me like any mother would love her child, no matter what."

"Indeed," Shigure agreed, "Ren should've known better back then, and she should know better now. If I remember correctly, the last time you saw her you weren't able to say much. Right?"

"That's how it appears," Akito replied. "Maybe I should try again, because I think I understand now. I understand the reason why as to why she was so angry with me all the time when I was little; and maybe I can tell her the real reason as to why dad loved me so much."

"It may be at that," said Shigure.

After a while, Akito put on her black skinny jeans and red body – tight tank top, and went outside for some fresh air. She sat on the porch and glanced over to Ren's room; at that moment she didn't have the courage to confront Ren. Oddly enough she was still afraid of what would come out of Ren's mouth. Whatever is was, Akito knew it would be insulting and cruel, and she didn't want to hear any of it. She also didn't want to endure any violence from Ren, if any occurs.

It hit her right there and then; she got up and started walking towards Ren's room. Anger filled her body, she didn't care if Ren was going to say harsh things or slap her upside the face. Akito just needed to confront her, and soon. She knocked softly on the door, within seconds, Ren opened it. She had the exact same facial features as Akito, her hair was the same colour black but it was longer, and her eyes were a little lighter in colour.

"Well, look who it is," Ren sneered. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yeah, I think it's time to talk," Akito answered. "I wanna know what life was like before I was born, before you met dad; I know more about you, I wanna know more about dad, I wanna know everything."

Ren was shocked to hear her own daughter wanted to know all of this. "Why should I tell you anything?"

Because I think I understand why dad loved me so much," said Akito.

"I'll think about it," Ren answered.

"Well," said Akito, "you know where to find me. Let me know when you're ready to talk."

With that, Akito walked away with a sort of mischievous smile on her face. She seemed to feel better after finally confronting Ren without any fear. She couldn't wait for Ren to say the word, and then Akito would finally be able to understand her own mother a little more. Maybe Ren will finally be able to understand her own daughter as well. They'd be a happy family again. _

Shigure and Hatori were in the sitting room talking.

"I'm thinking Akito's depression is caused by memories that have been haunting her since she was young," said Hatori.

"I think you may be right," Shigure agreed. "Two days ago it was the memory of her listening to Akira and Ren fighting even though it wasn't like Akira to yell; yesterday it was the memory of Ren yelling at Akito about the zodiac bond being fake, and just this morning it was the memory of the day she took her first steps and Ren ran away from her."

"She remembers that?" Hatori asked in shock.

"Apparently so," Shigure replied. "Im surprised I could even remember it, and who knows which memory she'll wake up from tomorrow morning."

"We'll just have to wait and see," Hatori mumbled. _

Later that evening, Akito was sitting on the bed watching Shigure pack his suitcase. He was going to write a newspaper report in Osaka. He was feeling a little edgy about leaving Akito all alone for a few days. He wanted her to come with him, but his boss was not comfortable with Shigure bringing anybody along to distract him. Akito thought Shigure's boss was being ridiculous; she would never distract Shigure at all.

"So, how long are you gone for?" Akito asked.

"Just for a few days," Shigure replied, "but I am a little scared to be leaving you alone for that long."

"Shigure, I'll be fine," said Akito, a small smile forming on her face. "If I want to talk to someone, I'll either bug Hatori, or I'll give Tohru a call."

"Of course, I'll call you every night to make sure you're doing alright," said Shigure.

"I'm gonna miss you," said Akito.

"I'm gonna miss you too," Shigure answered as he planted a soft kiss on Akito's cheek which made her smile mischievously. She grabbed Shigure's shirt and pulled him towards her.

"Let's make the best of tonight," she said in a sexy way. They both went under the covers and had their fun for the night. _

The next morning, Akito was in Shigure's arms outside the front door of the Main House. She was wearing her usual white kimono since she and Shigure had just woken up. Her eyes were full of tears with the sight of Shigure leaving for a few days. It never stopped her from doing what she liked, so she went back inside and changed into the kimono Shigure had given her a while back, it was black with pink camellias imprinted on it, Shigure had asked Ayame to make it; she put it on and went out into the gardens for a stroll. She was thinking about the night before when she and Shigure were making love, and lost herself in her thoughts.

"Psst!"

Akito stopped dead in her tracks and turned to where the noise came from. Ren was standing in the doorway of her room. What does she want now, Akito wondered. Then she thought, maybe she's ready to talk. That sure was quick; Akito started walking over to Ren and braced herself for whatever was going to happen.

"So," said Ren, "you wanna know everything?"

"Yeah," Akito answered.

"Well then why don't you come inside? There's a lot I want to tell you."

Wow, Akito thought as she walked in. She had never been invited into Ren's room before, let alone being invited in by Ren herself. She looked around, everything was neat and tidy. However, she did see some labeled boxes by the sofa. She sat down, and Ren joined her.

"There is a story behind everything," she said, "one of them is you."

Akito was surprised. "Me?"

"Yes," Ren answered. "You remind me of a girl I was very close to; she was my sister."

"You have a sister?" Akito asked.

"Well," said Ren, "I had a sister. I will tell you everything that dates back to when my life began. My mom wanted a girl, my dad wanted a boy; but it was the day I was born that my mom found out she was having twins. I was the first one out, then along came my sister Kora, my mom was happy, my dad wasn't, but my mom loved us both and that's all that mattered. Even though Kora and I were identical twins, it was always easy to tell us apart.

I had the long hair, I wore button – up shirts, the occasional t – shirt and blue skinny jeans. Kora on the other hand, was goth; she had all black clothes, jewellery, piercings, everything – and she kept her hair short. She also had a very unique sound of speech, which comes from my mom's side of the family. Every second generation, the first girl born inherits that sound of speech; my aunt had it, my sister had it, and whenever you have children, your first daughter will get it. Everyone who knew me understood Kora with my help at times, even when my dad was always yelling at us for no reason whatsoever.

Kora was with me when I met your dad, and he was with his friend at the time. When I first laid eyes on him I fell in love, then a couple weeks later I did a prank call to his cellphone, it was on our fourteenth birthday and we were having a party. Kora and I were being very naughty girls that night, but our fifteenth birthday was more of a blast. A couple months after our fifteenth birthday, Kora and I went on a shopping spree, but when we got home my dad started yelling at us for no reason. My mom, being the gentle woman that she is, tried to stop him from yelling, I stood my ground with a stern look; Kora however, Kora had enough.

She was tired of being yelled at all the time for no reason, so she went to the kitchen and grabbed a nearby knife. That caught my attention very quickly and my mom and I tried to stop her, but it was too late; she killed herself in front of all of us. After that, my mom told me I was free to leave so I wouldn't have to be yelled at anymore. So, I packed my clothes, I packed Kora's clothes, and I left."

"Where did you go?" Akito asked.

"I came to the Main House," Ren answered. "I was already working here part – time as a maid. When the head maid heard what had happened, she gave me permission to stay and work full – time. The best part was I got to see and personally help your dad; he asked me if I was the one who did the prank call, and I said 'yes.' He told me it was funny, and at that moment he told me he loved me, and I told him I loved him.

Of course, the head maid was not pleased at all, but we didn't care; we were in love and that's all that mattered. We did get married, but I was edgy when I found out I was pregnant. Although the thing that made matters worse was that four young boys (Shigure, Hatori, Ayame, and Kureno) came to me and told me I was going to give birth to an heir. Your dad was happy, I wasn't. Although now, I understand why your dad clung to you so much."

"That's what I wanted to tell you," said Akito. "I wanted to tell you that I understood."

"Here's why he clung to you," said Ren. "Your dad knew he didn't have a lot of time left to live, so he wanted to spend as much time with his only daughter as possible before he left the world. Now I understand that after having his time with you, I would have you all to myself. I just realized some time ago that that's what I wanted; and I want you to know that I do love you. I want us to be a family again."

Akito couldn't believe Ren had just said that to her. Her eyes started tearing up. 'Mommy' was all she could manage to say as she fell into her mother's arms crying. Ren was starting to cry too, and she held her daughter tight close to her. They both knew they were a happy family again.

"I love you Mom," said Akito. Ren smiled and kissed her forehead.

"I love you too sweetheart." _

Later that evening Hatori was walking along the deck when he noticed the head maid was staring shockingly into Ren's room. He followed her sight and noticed Ren and Akito were sitting on the sofa asleep in each other's arms. Ren felt somebody's presence and woke up only to see Hatori and the head maid staring at her with very shocked looks. Ren was speechless and had no clue as to what she should say. But instead, the head maid walked away and Hatori stepped inside.

"Need me to pick her up?" Hatori offered.

"Yes, please," said Ren. Hatori gently picked Akito up making sure not to wake her. Ren got to feet and straightened her dress. "Follow me."

Hatori followed Ren into a spare bedroom and laid Akito down on the bed. Ren covered her up with blankets and placed a picture of Akito's father on the bedside table. "I take it the two of you have spoken," said Hatori.

"Yes," Ren answered, "and we came to an understanding. I realized Akito is one of the best things that has ever happened to me."

Just as Ren and Hatori were walking out of the room, Akito woke up with a small gasp. Ren turned around and looked at her with a questioning look. "Can I stay over?" Akito asked. "Please?"

Ren smiled.

"Yes."


End file.
